Floor board removal can usually be done without the help of professionals, especially if you have no intention of preserving the wood you remove. The process can be time-consuming, but otherwise, it's relatively simple.

Steps

Part 1

Preparations

1

Determine what to do with the wood. If the wood is still in fairly good condition, you might want to consider selling or donating it.

For best results, choose a board with its length located along one of the perimeter sides of the floor. Removing your first sacrificial board here will make it easier to access and remove over boards further in.

Alternatively, you could use a pry bar to lift up the first few boards along one side of the floor's perimeter. This option is easiest to do if you have square-edged boards with at least one exposed edge.

2

Tear the board out. Slip the tongued end of a pry bar beneath the cut board and lift both halves of the board up. Once the two halves are free, remove them from the area.

The easiest way to do this is usually by wedging the pry bar in between the slit you just created and prying up both halves one at a time.

With the tongued end of the pry bar beneath the board, press down on the long handle end. The lever force of this action should be enough to pry up the wood, but it may take multiple tries before the nails and staples holding the board allow it to break free.

If the pry bar is too bulky to work with for this step, switch to the blade of a bolster chisel. Use that the pry up both cut halves, instead, working it in the same way as a pry bar.

3

Consider cutting the remaining boards. If you don't need to preserve the floor boards in long, whole pieces, it will be easier to cut each board into smaller sections before removing it.[2]

Using your circular saw, cut crosswise lines across the rows of floor board. Each line should divide the boards into 1 to 2 foot (30.5 to 61 cm) long sections. These cuts must lie perpendicular to the direction the boards are presently laying in.

If you do want to preserve the length of the floor boards, however, it is possible to remove the boards without cutting them into smaller chunks. The choice is ultimately yours to make, and the steps for removal are essentially the same either way.

4

Work one at a time. You will need to pull up each board or each cut section of board individually. Wait until completely removing one board before moving onto the next.

You should start with the board that lies directly adjacent to the first board you already pulled up. The purpose of pulling up the first board was to expose edges of the surrounding boards, so you should take advantage of these newly exposed edges.

5

Lift the board using a pry bar. Wedge the tongued side of a pry bar beneath the board you intend to remove next. Press down on the handle end of the bar to begin lifting the board.

If you wish to salvage the wood, you should work gently while lifting the each board.

Position the pry bar so that the tongue is beneath the first nail holding the bar to the floor.

Lift in the direction of the nail rather than working against it.

6

Work down the length of each board. Once the edge of the board has freed itself from the floor, slide the pry bar down the length of the board and over to the next nail. Lift the board up in this spot using the same type of motion and pressure.[3]

Continue working down the entire length of the board in this manner until the entire thing has been freed.

When trying to save long boards of wood, you should remove each board gradually using this procedure. If you are only concerned about ripping away small sections of previously damaged wood, however, you can try ripping the board up in one motion instead of working it up gradually.

7

Use a mallet for stubborn boards. If you are unable to lift the boards with a standard pry bar, you may need to use the additional force a mallet can provide.

Slide the hooked end of the nail claw beneath the top of each staple you spot.

Carefully ease or rock the nail claw backward by pulling down on the handle. As you pull the claw back, the force should yank the staple out of the floor.

For broken staples, you will need to use curved vice grips. Pinch the visible section of staple in between the mouth of the grips. Rock the staple back and forth while pulling in an upward direction. Eventually, the staple should pull free from the floor.

2

Pull out any nails. Use large locking pliers to remove nails from the floor and from any wood you plan to salvage.